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The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (large edit)

650 images Created 28 Oct 2008

These 650 images (in file name order) originate from the book project 'The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work' (subtitled A Song for Occupations) by Alain de Botton. The gallery called One Hundred Images contains a much smaller edit than seen here and may help the viewer acquaint themselves with this body of work.

In his book, de Botton writes:
"We spend much of our lives at work - but surprisingly little gets written about what makes work both one of the most exciting and most painful of all our activities.

The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is an exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, evoking what other people get up to all day - and all night - to make the frenzied contemporary world function. With a philosophical eye and his characteristic combination of wit and wisdom, Alain de Botton leads us on a journey around a deliberately eclectic range of occupations, from rocket science to biscuit manufacturing, accountancy to art - in the name of exploring what makes our jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying."

The book pictures are reproduced in black and white but all appear here in colour. They are a combined edit (from a total of 5,000 shot) and were released for sale through Photoshelter, Alamy and some also exclusive to CORBIS on 1st April 2009. Each image has its availability details in the restrictions field, if appropriate.

JPEGS for book review purposes are available on request and Lambda prints are on sale via bakerpictures.com.

Blog story about the photography:
http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j

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  • Stored old airliners sit in mid-day heat of arid Sonoran Desert at Mojave airport facility, awaiting recycling for scrap value.
    aviation_graveyard03-16-03-2008.jpg
  • US Air airliner cabin floor and magazine in arid Sonoran Desert at Mojave airport facility, awaiting recycling for scrap value.
    aviation_graveyard05-16-03-2008.jpg
  • Economy class seats in mid-day heat of arid Sonoran Desert at Mojave airport facility, awaiting recycling for scrap value.
    aviation_graveyard06-16-03-2008.jpg
  • Airliner and jet engines in mid-day heat of arid Sonoran Desert at Mojave airport facility, awaiting recycling for scrap value.
    aviation_graveyard07-16-03-2008.jpg
  • Airliner parts in mid-day heat of arid Sonoran Desert at Mojave airport facility, awaiting recycling for scrap value.
    aviation_graveyard08-06-04-2008.jpg
  • Oxygen mask survival equipment in airliner cabin at Mojave airport desert facility, awaiting recycling for scrap value.
    aviation_graveyard09-09-04-2008.jpg
  • A Royal Mail lorry speeds up the darkening M1 motorway loaded with parcels and letters.
    DIRFT019-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • Seen from the middle of the road, an empty highway landscape is seen at night alongside a giant generic warehouse wall at the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry, Northamptonshire England. The tarmac is dark and the newly-painted white painted lines stand out. This 365 acre site off Junction 18 of the M1 motorway is a hub for road, rail and service infrastructure, some 2.3m sq.ft. of distribution and manufacturing floorspace had been constructed by 2004 and occupiers including Tesco?s, Tibbett & Britten plc, Ingram Micro, Royal Mail, the W.H. Malcolm Group, Eddie Stobart Ltd, Wincanton and Exel, have been attracted to this unique logistics location.
    DIRFT022-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • No-right turn traffic sign alongside the Mothercare facilities at the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry.
    DIRFT026-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • Tesco supermarket facilities at the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry, Northamptonshire
    DIRFT029-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • Lights from industrial night traffic speeding at 25mph through the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry
    DIRFT031-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • Lights from industrial night traffic speeding through the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry,
    DIRFT038-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • Alongside the A5 highway, an industrial landscape is illuminated in light from roadside street-lighting. Reeds are in the foreground in front of a giant generic warehouse that glows from its own territory. Grass is next to the crash-barrier and faint mist is seen on this cold winter night at the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry, Northamptonshire England. This 365 acre site off Junction 18 of the M1 motorway is a hub for road, rail and service infrastructure, some 2.3m sq.ft. of distribution and manufacturing floorspace had been constructed by 2004 and occupiers including Tesco?s, Tibbett & Britten plc, Ingram Micro, Royal Mail, the W.H. Malcolm Group, Eddie Stobart Ltd, Wincanton and Exel, have been attracted to this unique logistics location.
    DIRFT041-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • Lights from industrial night traffic speeding on the A5 at the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry,
    DIRFT042-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • Lights from industrial night traffic speeding on the A5 at the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry,
    DIRFT044-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • The form of a giant generic warehouse glows from ambient light at the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry, Northamptonshire England. Bare trees without foliage are seen in the foreground on this cold winter night. We see the building low in the picture and the sky graduates from light into near darkness. This 365 acre site off Junction 18 of the M1 motorway is a hub for road, rail and service infrastructure, some 2.3m sq.ft. of distribution and manufacturing floorspace had been constructed by 2004 and occupiers including Tesco?s, Tibbett & Britten plc, Ingram Micro, Royal Mail, the W.H. Malcolm Group, Eddie Stobart Ltd, Wincanton and Exel, have been attracted to this unique logistics location.
    DIRFT057-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • Heavy Goods Vehicle sign stencilled in a lorry park at the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry.
    DIRFT071-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • In front of an industrial doorway with a safety handrail and near empty parking bay markings, a stencilled arrow points from left to right at the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry, Northamptonshire England. Bright light glows from the warehouse wall, shining on to the car park creating an almost daylight landscape. This 365 acre site off Junction 18 of the M1 motorway is a hub for road, rail and service infrastructure, some 2.3m sq.ft. of distribution and manufacturing floorspace had been constructed by 2004 and occupiers including Tesco?s, Tibbett & Britten plc, Ingram Micro, Royal Mail, the W.H. Malcolm Group, Eddie Stobart Ltd, Wincanton and Exel, have been attracted to this logistics location.
    DIRFT079-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • Warehouse car park landscape at night at the DIRFT logistics park in Daventry, Northamptonshire
    DIRFT081-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • In front of empty parking bay markings, a stencilled arrow points from right to left in the foreground at the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry, Northamptonshire England. A bright light glows from the warehouse wall, shining  on to the car park creating an almost daylight landscape. This 365 acre site off Junction 18 of the M1 motorway is a hub for road, rail and service infrastructure, some 2.3m sq.ft. of distribution and manufacturing floorspace had been constructed by 2004 and occupiers including Tesco?s, Tibbett & Britten plc, Ingram Micro, Royal Mail, the W.H. Malcolm Group, Eddie Stobart Ltd, Wincanton and Exel, have been attracted to this logistics location.
    DIRFT_084.jpg
  • Warehouse car park landscape at night at the DIRFT logistics park in Daventry, Northamptonshire
    DIRFT085-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • Pointing towards the viewer and the bottom of the picture near empty parking bay markings, a stencilled arrow directs traffic flow at the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry, Northamptonshire England. Bright light glows from the warehouse walls shining on to the car park creating an almost daylight landscape. This 365 acre site off Junction 18 of the M1 motorway is a hub for road, rail and service infrastructure, some 2.3m sq.ft. of distribution and manufacturing floorspace had been constructed by 2004 and occupiers including Tesco?s, Tibbett & Britten plc, Ingram Micro, Royal Mail, the W.H. Malcolm Group, Eddie Stobart Ltd, Wincanton and Exel, have been attracted to this logistics location.
    DIRFT087-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • In front of an industrial doorway with a safety handrail and near empty parking bay markings, a stencilled arrow points from left to right at the DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry, Northamptonshire England. Bright light glows from the warehouse wall, shining on to the car park creating an almost daylight landscape. This 365 acre site off Junction 18 of the M1 motorway is a hub for road, rail and service infrastructure, some 2.3m sq.ft. of distribution and manufacturing floorspace had been constructed by 2004 and occupiers including Tesco?s, Tibbett & Britten plc, Ingram Micro, Royal Mail, the W.H. Malcolm Group, Eddie Stobart Ltd, Wincanton and Exel, have been attracted to this logistics location.
    DIRFT089-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • Moving fast past a farmhouse building on a busy UK A road, unseen traffic leaves its light trails on an otherwise dark winter night near the giant DIRFT warehouse logistics park in Daventry, Northamptonshire England. Some rooms are lit in this remote residence which show signs of occupation. Red tail lights from cars, lorries and trucks streak by with tall traces of container traffic leaves light on the picture, diagonally leaving their mark. It is a very busy highway on which to own a home but this infrastructure is a vital route that keeps Britain's logistics moving across the country 24/7.
    DIRFT098-20-02-2007 .jpg
  • Destination trolleys inside the Royal Mail's DIRFT logistics park in Daventry, Northamptonshire England.
    DIRFT117-20-02-2007 .jpg
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